


Stroopwafel eyes

by Thorinsfurcoat



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types, The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Pining, Pre-Canon, Pre-Slash, Pre-Smaug, Teenage Awkwardness, Young Dwalin, Young Thorin, kid Frerin, mentions of dragon sickness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-03-04
Packaged: 2018-03-16 08:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,050
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3480497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thorinsfurcoat/pseuds/Thorinsfurcoat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being a teenage prince is a difficult prospect in itself, add to that a loving but absent father, an akward crush on a stupidly handsome young guard and a younger brother who enjoys attracting trouble to himself, embarassing his brother and shout "stroopwafle" at the top of his lungs and you get a picture of how nightmarish the life of a young Thorin can be at times.<br/>OR: I genuinely suck at summaries but please go read this funny little thing of mine?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stroopwafel eyes

**Author's Note:**

> This idea just popped in my head for no reason at all and I thought it would be too bad not to use it, so here have my attempt at writing some fluff, because there's nothing I enjoy more than writing Thorin and Dwalin as two dorks in love, except maybe Thorin and Dwalin as two young dorks in love. Also my first attempt at writing Frerin turned out to be a lot of fun.  
> Also a shout out goes to Ladynorthstar for her artwork of Thorin and the giant stroopwafel, because there is no way this drawing hasn't inspired me at least a little bit, so if you read this, a big thanks to you and your amazing art!  
> Comments are of course optional but more than welcome!

Thorin pushed his food around his plate, a sulky expression on his face, suddenly not hungry anymore. It had started as a lovely morning, a bright sunlight shining through the oval roof window, landing right on the table filled with every type of food one could wish for breakfast. The first meal of the day had become almost sacred, a ritual that had always been part of the daily routine for the royal family. 

However since the crown prince’s wife’s tragic death it had become the moment everyone suddenly looked forward to, one of the few moments when they could all enjoy a meal together and be a united family for a while until everyone had to leave for the day’s duties. It was always a comforting moment, reminding the dwarflings of similar moments shared with their mother, an instant in which they could almost feel her presence in the room with them again.

Thorin also enjoyed mornings because it meant a rare opportunity to talk to his father while he was relaxed, usually in a good mood and always making a point to not leave the breakfast table until he had shared a proper bonding moment with each of his three beloved children. Today however was not one of those days. 

The young prince knew his sulking and being angry at his father was childish and selfish; he knew his father would still be there with them at the breakfast table if he had his way and he had seen the tired, apologetic gaze he had sent them when the messenger had come to fetch him, still Thorin couldn’t help but feel resentful. It had now happened three days in a row that some council member or one of the king’s advisors had needed his help on an urgent matter, each time depriving both Thrain and his children of well needed family time.  
And every time he would be fed the same words about his grandfather being ill and therefore unable to attend to his kingly duties, but Thorin knew better. He was no child anymore and he had seen more than once the crazy gleam in his grandfather’s eyes, or witnessed as the king spent hours in his treasure hoard, seemingly forgetting that anything else beside his immense wealth ever existed. 

No matter how hard everyone tried to hide it from him, he knew, just as he knew how hard it was for his father to bear the weight of the king’s madness as well as trying as best as he could to take his place in the ruling of the kingdom. 

Every time Thrain left to attend meetings in his father’s place he seemed more tired, his shoulders ever so slightly hunched, his skin paler with each day passing and Thorin was left alone with his younger siblings internally wondering how long it would be until it would simply be all too much for his father and he would be the only sane member of his family left, the one the king’s advisors would sent for in the middle of his breakfast to tend to urgent matters.

A tug on his sleeve brought him out of his dark thoughts and back to a beaming Frerin who proudly held two pancakes in front of his older brother’s face.

“Thorin, look what I can do!” The dwarfling said excitedly before shoving both pancakes at once into his mouth, still managing a proud smile around his big mouthful. Thorin couldn’t help but chuckle at his antics, shaking his head at his brother’s permanent good mood.

“Keep doing this and you will choke on these one day” Thorin told him in what he hoped to be his best older brother reproachful tone. But Frerin only laughed and grabbed another pancake from the plate, attempting to fit it in his mouth along with the other two he still hadn’t chewed down.

“You’re disgusting” Thorin stated, looking away from his brother though he couldn’t keep a smile forming on his face, grateful for the presence of dear Frerin, who never allowed him to dwell in his own dark thoughts for too long.

“Can I go to a friend’s after breakfast?” The dwarfling said once he had swallowed everything he had in his mouth, already bouncing excitedly in his chair at the thought of spending the day running around the stone halls of Erebor along with his little group of friends, mischief in their minds.

“You heard what Father said” Thorin reminded him, frowning. “You are to stay with me and accompany me if I am to go anywhere. No running around on your own, I am responsible for you until Father has returned” He recited his father’s words, not even trying to hide how annoyed he was at the prospect of having to drag his younger brother along with him all day.

“Oh, right” The dwarfling said, his face losing a bit of its usual cheerfulness at these words. “What are we going to do then?” He asked hopefully. If he was lucky maybe Thorin would go off to visit one of his friends and this time he couldn’t leave him behind, so he got to spend time with his big brother’s awesome friends, the dwarfling thought, beaming at the idea.

“I’m not sure” Thorin replied carefully, eyeing the bundle of nerves practically bouncing on his heels next to him. There was no way he could go sparring with his friends today, Frerin would never be able to simply sit still and watch, he would end up touching the various weapons which were stored in the training room and try to wield them. His father would have quite a fit if that were to happen, Thorin thought with a sigh.

“We will go to the library” he finally decided. “I need to pick up some books to study for my lessons, and you can find something for you to read too” he suggested, watching as his brother’s face fell immediately.

“But that’s so boring!” He protested with a pout on his face, slumping in his seat in defeat. “I want to go and visit my friends, not sit around with some stupid book! Please, I promise I will behave” he pleaded with his best puppy eyes, smiling widely at his brother. “Which I will not if you take me with you to the library” he promptly added, sticking his tongue at Thorin, who sighed and internally rolled his eyes.

“How about you get dressed and presentable first, and then we can talk about it?” Thorin replied, playfully tugging on a strand of his brother’s dark tousled hair. The dwarfling’s face lit instantly and he dashed off to his room, squealing in delight.

Thorin was having an internal debate about whether it was wise to let Frerin go on his own when their father had clearly instructed him not to so but a sudden knock on the door snapped him out of his thoughts. He promptly left his seat, hurrying to open the door, bracing himself for bad news only to find Dwalin’s friendly face on the other side of the door.

“Good morning” the young warrior, already fully dressed and wearing his armor, greeted him respectfully with a short bow of his head. Thorin internally cursed himself when his mouth suddenly refused to cooperate and return the greeting, settling for what he hoped to be a friendly smile instead, holding the door open for the slightly taller dwarf to come in.

Dwalin wasted no time and crossed the space to the table in a couple of long strides. He took his cloak off, carefully laying in on an empty chair and promptly took a seat, eyeing the food on the table with a predatory grin.

“Right in the middle of breakfast, I see. Do you mind if I join you?” He asked, already reaching for an empty plate while scanning the food attentively, silently deciding what he was going to pile up on it.

“Of course not, I’m glad for the company” Thorin replied with an amused smile as he sat back down in the chair he had just vacated, watching the warrior gulp down mountains of food in record time. 

For the first time that day he was glad that his father was gone, for he knew that Dwalin would never had dared to behave like that in front of him. However when it was just him and Dwalin alone the young guard seemed much more relaxed, if only a little impertinent, and always behaved like he would with any other dwarf, treating him simply as one of his friends. Dwalin was one of the few dwarfs who actually behaved normally with him, almost forgetting that he was a prince of Durin’s line and future king of the mightiest kingdom of Middle Earth.

He was even worse than Frerin when it came to food, Thorin reflected silently, suddenly thankful that his brother was busy getting dressed in his bedroom. If Dwalin had come in minutes earlier he might just have joined Frerin in his pancake-eating contest, Thorin thought with a smile at the thought of Dwalin engulfing six pancakes at once in front of a wide eyed Frerin.

“I take it you had early practice today?” Thorin asked with genuine curiosity.

“Aye, our instructor took us out to patrol around the mountain just before dawn” Dwalin answered between two mouthfuls of toast, his eyes shining with pride. It took a few moments for Thorin to notice his friend’s confused gaze and he hastily brought his attention back to his own abandoned plate, realizing a bit too late with a furious blush that he had been staring again. 

He brushed it off as simple curiosity, after all despite him having his own private teachers it was quite fascinating to hear about the young guards’ training, and he briefly considered asking if he could come along too next time they had an early patrol; being the king’s grandson surely the young guards’ instructor wouldn’t refuse his request.

“I was planning to go to Dale today” Dwalin blurts out suddenly. “My mother has been nagging me for days that I go and get her some stuff she needs, fabric for her work, new needles, some special thread and so forth. I thought I’d go today and order everything for her or else she might just chop my head off next time she asks and I have to confess I still haven’t done it. Would you like to come?”

The last sentence is barely more than a gruff whisper and Thorin almost doesn’t catch it, busy as he was trying to suppress a grin at Dwalin’s words about his mother. It catches him off guard and it takes him all his concentration not to look too surprised or overly eager at his friend’s suggestion. He pretends to consider it for a moment.

“Sure, why not? It has been a while since I last went to Dale” he replies trying to sound casual when his heart is suddenly beating faster, undoubtedly at the prospect of strolling along the streets of Dale and its fabulous market again, he stubbornly tells himself.

Dwalin lets out a quiet sigh of relief. He hadn’t even meant to ask for Thorin to come at all, the plan had been to simply inform him of his intention of going to Dale for a little trip and then wait for Thorin to say that he would like to come too. He had almost kicked himself when the sentence had accidentally slipped out of his mouth and he had half expected Thorin to decline the offer out of pride. One did not simply ask a prince out, after all, and Thorin always pointed out how busy he was every time the warrior suggested that they do something together. 

“I need to make myself presentable first, but I will be ready to go in a couple of minutes” Thorin said, suddenly very self-conscious of his unbraided hair and nightclothes.

“Of course, take your time. I will be waiting outside” Dwalin replied, promptly standing up, gathering his cloak and making his way to the door, deciding that it would be better to give the prince some privacy while he was getting dressed.

Thorin bolted to his room as soon as the warrior had left, hurriedly selecting the simplest clothes that he could find as well as the few beads he owned that didn’t bear Durin’s crest on them, feeling that it was better not to attract too much attention. Dale was usually a safe place, its inhabitants used to dwarves and quite friendly to them, but as he had been reminded countless times it was never too wise to shove his noble birth right under everyone’s noses, even in a place full of allies.

“What are you doing?” Frerin asked, peering curiously into his older brother’s room. “Where are you going?”

“I am going to Dale with Dwalin” Thorin replied quietly, busy fixing his hair into the usual braids a dwarf of his rank was expected to wear.

“Can I come too?” Frerin asked immediately, his overly excited voice making his brother cringe internally.

“No” Thorin snapped a little more harshly than he had meant to, grabbing his boots from where he had last abandoned them under his bed.

“But I want to come with you” the dwarfling said with a pout, his voice turning into a whine that instantly grated on Thorin’s nerves. “Dwalin is my friend too!” he added, crossing his small arms stubbornly over his chest.

“You wanted to go and visit a friend, and you have my permission to do that. Now off you go” Thorin said trying to usher his brother out of his bedroom, but Frerin planted his little feet firmly into the ground and refused to budge.

“I have changed my mind, I don’t want to go see my friends anymore, I want to go with you and Dwalin instead.” He said stubbornly, glaring defiantly at his brother.

“And what if I don’t want you to?” Thorin growled, feeling his temper slowly rise at his brother’s stubbornness. Why was it that every time he wanted to do something alone Frerin had to throw a temper until he had no choice but to let him come along?

“I don’t care, I’m coming with you” Frerin said again, holding Thorin’s gaze.

“You only have two options” Thorin said with a sigh, trying as hard as he could not to lose his temper for good and simply shout at his younger brother to leave him alone, for he knew that if he did, he would feel a lot better for a short moment before guilt kicked in at the thought of having treated his little brother so harshly. Frerin may be a brat sometimes, well most of the time actually, Thorin silently reflected, but he was still his very own beloved little brother.

“Either you behave like the big boy you always say you are and go play with your friends while I spend time with mine, or you carry on acting like a baby and I will just have to drop you off with Dis and her nannies.” Thorin finished with a glare of his own, watching with delight as his brother’s eyes widened at the threat.

“I don’t need a nanny!” he cried out with an offended pout. “And I’m not a baby!”  
“Then stop acting like one” Thorin said between gritted teeth.

“You’re being unfair!” Frerin yelled suddenly, balling his hands into little fists. “You won’t let me come with you only because you want to be alone with Dwalin so you can snog him!”

The words hit Thorin like a punch in the face. That was something he had definitely not seen coming. The dwarfling’s face split into a grin as he watched the effect his words had on his eldest brother who currently gaped at him, gobsmacked. “You’re in love with him!” he added, sticking his tongue out for good measure.

“That is not true” Thorin managed to say after the shock had passed somehow, his voice surprisingly calm.

“Yes it is!” Frerin said giggling as his brother’s ears slowly but surely turned bright pink. “You’re in love with Dwalin, and now you’re even blushing because I said his name!” he added with a triumphant smile.

“No I am not!” Thorin repeated stubbornly, painfully aware of how he was now the one behaving childishly.

“Yes you are!” the little dwarf said, cackling evilly, his voice getting higher in volume with every word with sheer amusement at his brother’s obvious embarrassment. “I have noticed how you look at him, you have the same look on your face that you have when we have your favorite for dessert!”

“You’re making this up” Thorin grumbled under his breath, feeling the blush creep to his cheeks. He wanted nothing more in that moment than to disappear from his annoying little brother’s mad laughing, his fingers itching to physically remove him from his bedroom, but he knew it was a lost cause, for even if he did manage to throw the dwarfling out of his room and slam the door in his face he would continue to yell and laugh behind the door as loudly as he could.

“Your eyes grow so wide when you’re staring at him” Frerin continued, delighted in his brother’s growing discomfort. “That’s what you look like when you do!” he exclaimed, taking out two stroopwafels from his pocket and placing them in front of his own eyes, letting his mouth hang wide in a painfully accurate expression of his lovestruck brother, giggling madly all the while.

“Cut it out already” Thorin snapped at him, only managing to sound half convincing. He would already be laughing along with his brother if he wasn’t the subject of the joke.

“Where did you even get these anyway? Did you steal them from the kitchen?” Thorin asked, pointing at the two stroopwaffels in the dwarfling’s hands, jumping on the opportunity to lead the conversation away from himself.

“Maybe?” Frerin retorted with a smug grin. “They’re not kept in the kitchen anymore though, they have locked them away somewhere else, I’m not telling you where though” he added, his face now split into a huge grin from ear to ear.

Thorin had just opened his mouth to lecture his brother on how stealing was definitely not proper behavior for a prince, even if it was just a couple of sweets, when they both heard the big oaken door leading to the royal quarters open and Dwalin’s voice calling out for Thorin. Frerin immediately run out, not giving his brother a single second to react, running straight to Dwalin who was standing awkwardly in the main room, unsure of what to do. He almost lost his balance when the dwarfling collided with his legs, hugging them with surprising force coming for such a young child, beaming up at him with a wide grin.

“Hello, little one” Dwalin greeted him with a smile of his own, gently running a hand through the mass of dark curls on top of the dwarfling’s head, ruffling it. “Is your brother ready yet?”

“He will be soon” Frerin answered quickly. “Can I come too?” he rushed the words out, beaming at the tall warrior again, giving him his best impression of puppy eyes which he knew always worked on his father, surely they would have the same effect on the tall guard?

“I suppose you can” Dwalin replied with a shrug after a moment of silence, taken aback by the sudden request. No sonner had he spoken these words that the dwarfling let out a triumphant squeal, hugged his legs briefly again and dashed off, yelling that he was getting his boots and coat and that he would be back right away.

The warrior watched him go with a frown, puzzled at his behavior. Then his eyes fell on Thorin who was now fully dressed, his face a mixture of resign and silent fury.

“How kind of you to accept his request, you didn’t have to” Thorin said in a casual tone, however there was no mistaking the upset glance in his eyes. Dwalin raised his eyebrows in a silent question, wondering what he had done wrong, but Thorin only continued to stare at him with his beautiful piercing blue gaze, alost as bright as the sky in the first rays of morning light, Dwalin reflected.

It was now Thorin’s turn to look confused, his lips curled into a tiny amused grin, and Dwalin promptly looked away, aware of how awkward this situation was quickly becoming, and losing himself in his prince’s eyes would definitely not help, not matter how insanely beautiful said eyes were.

“You look nice today” Dwalin blurted out suddenly, desperate for something to say to break the heavy silence that hung between them, gesturing vaguely towards Thorin’s light blue tunic finely embroidered with golden thread at the hem and sleeves. “Well not just today, you always do” he quickly added, realizing a bit too late that his words could have been insulting. He almost kicked himself mentally when he noticed that he was now ranting, which was even worse. However Thorin looked quite pleased and definitely not offended, if his slightly pink cheeks and shy smile were anything to go by.

“Thank you” he said with a graceful nod of his head. “Is this a new armor? It suits you quite well” he added, felling it would be suitable to return the compliment.

“Oh, you noticed?” Dwalin said with a proud grin. “Aye, this one’s new. It won’t be long now until my training is officially finished and I will be part of the king’s guard, I will be expected to wear a brand new shiny armor by then” he said standing up a bit straighter, beaming with pride, swelling out his chest to display the crest engraved right in the middle of the armor, the same one all guards wore. Thorin’s insides swelled with pride at the sight; his friend was now a guard in all but name, and even this would not be long for the ceremony where the new guards were introduced to the king was only a few weeks away.

“Shall we go then?” Came a shrieking voice right next to them, making them both jump at the unexpected sound, effectively putting an end to their shared moment of intimacy. Dwalin immediately snapped out of it and gave the little prince a curt nod, walking in quick strides towards the door while Frerin quietly giggled and whispered “stroopwaffle eyes” at his brother, giggling even harder when he easily dodged the shove Thorin had aimed at him, running to where Dwalin was holding the door open for them with another loud, excited shriek.  
***

The market was surprisingly crowded for a still early hour in the morning, and Thorin started to question just how wise it had been to sneak out of Erebor without an escort. However a quick glance at Dwalin’s attentive gaze, his hand never too far from the battle axes strapped on his back and the dagger at his belt made him beam with pride, feeling more secure with the tall dwarf’s presence near him than he would have with a dozen of his grandfather’s more experienced guards.

Frerin’s eyes were shining with excitement and he kept running off whenever he caught glimpse of a shiny object or some particularly tasty looking food displayed on the many market stands, much to his brother’s dismay. They had barely been in the market for a quarter of hour and he was already tired of running after his little brother every few minutes to prevent him from getting lost in the crowd, and he had reminded him so many times that he was to stay close to him that he was starting to sound like a broken record.

“Stop worrying so much, he is old enough to go and have a look by himself, as long as he doesn’t get too far away from us” Dwalin told his friend, sensing how tense he already was.

“That’s exactly what the problem is, he always does get too far” Thorin replied with a snort and a quiet sigh as Frerin disappeared from his sight yet again. “If he gets lost in this crowd it will take us hours to search the entire market through.”

“He will have no problem finding us again, trust me” Dwalin said, his face splitting into a smile as Frerin suddenly emerged again from between a smithy’s stall and a baker’s. “See, here he is. I used to be just like him when I was his age, running off from my brother’s side every chance I got. He wasn’t too happy about it though, refused to take me with him to the market for a couple of months after I almost gave him a heart attack once” the warrior reflected with a fond smile.

“You were supposed to side with me on this matter, not with him” Thorin said with a snort, thought he couldn’t hold back a smile as he imagined a younger Dwalin running around wreaking havoc while a worried Balin searched every single one of Dale’s crowded streets for his vanished brother.

“You’re lucky not to have any younger siblings though, and I can’t wait for my baby sister to grow up so that it will be Frerin’s turn to play big brother to a walking whirlwind, see how good he manages then.” 

“We will just have to wait and see then” Dwalin said with a chuckle. “How about you take your time to take a look around the market? I will keep an eye on the young master of disaster over there in the meanwhile.”

“That’s very generous of you, thank you” Thorin replied with a grateful smile. “I will not be long though, I only want to take a quick look at the various weapons, and then I can take over the watch over my brother so that you can place the order for your mother.”

“Deal” Dwalin answered, briefly touching his prince’s shoulder in what could have been a friendly gesture if it hadn’t lingered a few seconds longer than necessary, then went off to find the young trouble maker.

As it turned out Frerin wasn’t that far away, examining attentively silver beads of various sizes, shapes and design exposed on a beautiful dark velvet drape. As soon as he spotted the warrior’s familiar bulk the youngest prince waved at him with a big smile, gesturing for him to come closer. Dwalin obliged and went to stand right beside the dwarfling who quickly extended a hand to point at a set of silver beads encrusted with small sapphires.

“Those would look good on Thorin, don’t you think so?” he asked with an expression way too innocent to fit on that usually mischievous face. 

“I suppose so” Dwalin said with a shrug. “They’re not bad, they would definitely make his eyes stand out.”

No sooner had he finished his sentence that Frerin erupted in a fit of hysterical laughter in the midst of it a perplexed Dwalin managed to catch a few random words like “I knew it” or “just as bad as Thorin” though the warrior failed to make the sense of what that was all about.

The dwarfling’s laughter went on, gaining in volume so that several men as well as a few dwarves turned their heads to stare at the strange display of a bulky, confused guard and a small dwarf child shaking in roaring laughter. The warrior’s eyes soon spotted Thorin a few feet further up the street and he promptly walked up to him, grateful for an occasion to be rid, if only temporarily, of the embarrassing child.

Thorin was standing in front of a similar smith’s stall, this one however displaying knives and daggers as well as beads, rings and necklaces. He had a shiny silver dagger in his hands, and his eyes lit up as he saw his friend approaching, acknowledging him with a curt smile before showing him the dagger.

“Look at this one, isn’t it incredibly beautiful? I have never seen anything like it before” the prince marveled, his voice barely above an amazed whisper, his fingers gently stroking the engraved hilt of the dagger as if it were something worth worshipping.

The dagger was quite a work of art indeed, there was no denying it, however the warrior found his gaze mesmerized by Thorin’s graceful fingers rather than the metal object itself, carefully observing every single movement they made, every careful, almost tender touch making the guard itch to snatch the dagger out of the prince’s hand and replace it with one of his hands instead. Not liking in the least the dangerous path his thoughts were taking, the warrior cleared his throat and forced himself to come up with something to say.

“Quite gorgeous, indeed” he agreed, although his gaze was currently lost in Thorin’s blue one rather than fixed on the dagger. The prince seemed to notice it since his ears went slightly pink and he quickly broke their gaze, continuing to stare at the dagger in his hands, although with much less conviction this time.

“It looks a lot like the one your father gave you for your last birthday” Dwalin commented, hoping that making small talk would help break the awkwardness that seemed to have suddenly reappeared between them.

“Not quite” Thorin answered with a little frown. “This one is a throwing dagger, see?” he added, holding the weapon out for the warrior to have a better look at it. “Whereas the one my father gave me was a ceremonial dagger like that one over there” he said pointing at another dagger on the other side of the stall, the movement causing his other hand to accidentally brush Dwalin’s in the process. They both jumped simultaneously and snatched their hands away as if they had been burnt, both carefully avoiding the other’s gaze.

“Right, I’d better go and get the stuff my mother wants then” Dwalin stammered and dashed off a bit faster than he normally would have, leaving the prince to stare after him, shaking his head in disbelief at the sight of the tall, bulky, gruff warrior actually blushing because of a mere brush of their hands. 

He was still staring at the empty space where Dwalin at stood moments ago with a dreamy smile on his face when he felt a tug on his sleeve. He tore his gaze from emptiness to find a familiar grinning face next to him, giggling silently.

“Stroopwaffel” the dwarfling whispered loud enough for his brother to hear before breaking into another fit of giggles.

“Stop that” Thorin hissed, casting a quick gaze around to see if there was anyone close enough who could have possibly heard his brother’s silly words, mentally cursing himself when he felt his blush deepening.

“I will, but only if you buy me candy” Frerin immediately retorted, his amused grin turning into a devilish one. Thorin sighed and almost rolled his eyes at his brother’s seemingly incapacity to lose an opportunity to annoy him, which currently turned into blackmailing.

“It’s not like you don’t have enough candy back at home, I happened to have seen that glass jar full of them that you keep under your bed” Thorin replied with a grin of his own, feeling that he too could play this game after all. Unfortunately his hopes of outsmarting his little brother instantly crashed as the dwarfling opened his mouth, taking a deep breath, ready to shout what had obviously become his favorite word lately at the top of his lungs.

“Fine, you will have your candy” Thorin quickly whispered before his younger brother could cause any more trouble and took him by the hand, letting the dwarf child merrily lead him to whatever place it was that he wanted his candy from, sulking and making faces behind his little brother’s back, not caring one last bit how childish and useless it was. A small revenge was always better than none, after all.

The two princes met with Dwalin not long after leaving the sweets shop, the warrior happily telling them that he had successfully ordered everything his mother had needed and that it would be delivered to her the following morning. The guard then caught sight of Frerin’s handful of candy and playfully reached out to grab one from him, commenting on how he had way too much and that there was no way the small child would be able to eat it all on his own. Frerin shrieked and batted the big hand away, giggling, and gracefully jumped aside so that he was effectively shielded from the warrior’s grabby hands by his brother’s body. Pleased with himself he stuck his head out from behind Thorin’s back and stuck his tongue out at Dwalin before stuffing another candy into his mouth, grinning provocatively at the warrior. 

“Frerin, that is awfully rude” Thorin growled at him, having witnessed Dwalin and Frerin’s playful banter with an amused smile that had soon turned into a scowl at his brother’s attitude. “Didn’t Father teach you that you were supposed to share?”

The little dwarf had at least the grace to look bashful and he stepped out from behind his brother’s back, mumbling an apology and pulling a stroopwaffel out of his pocket which he promptly handed out to the warrior. Dwalin accepted both the apology and the sweet with a fond smile and a ruffle to the boy’s dark locks. Frerin grinned triumphantly at his brother.

“How come he gets one and I don’t?” Thorin threw in quickly as his brother opened his mouth, undoubtedly for another of his stoopwafel related comments.

“I am sure Dwalin will be delighted to share with you” he replied with a toothy grin. Thorin fought back a blush and aimed a playful shove at his brother, then let out a sigh of relief when he noticed that the warrior obviously hadn’t heard Frerin’s last whispered comment. 

The guard was busy staring at him with a funnily shy expression, seemingly having an inner debate about something. Then he cleared his throat and took out a small dagger out of his cloak, a dagger that Thorin recognized instantly as it was held out to him.

“Here, you can have that” Dwalin stammered in a gruff voice, practically shoving the small weapon into Thorin’s hands when he didn’t immediately reach out to take it.

“Oh, thank you” Thorin managed to say in a strangely croaky voice. “You didn’t have to buy it for me, you know” he added with a pleased smile on his face. The warrior only shrugged. Frerin tugged once again on his brother’s sleeve, urgently whispering “give him a thank you kiss!” into his ear.

“You shut up and eat your candy” Thorin growled at him. The dwarfling giggled, then ran off again with a squeal as he obviously had once more spotted something interesting in a nearby stall. Dwalin followed the boy’s movement with a sigh and a shake of his head, making a mental note to ask Balin later if he had been nearly as bad as the little prince when he had been the same age. Then he reconsidered and decided against it; Balin would no doubt make him sound a thousand times worse than he really was.

Lost in his thoughts as he was he almost jumped as Thorin unexpectedly planted a quick peck on his cheek, murmuring his thanks right into the guard’s ear. It was over so quickly that it left him wondering if he had not imagined it, although the prince’s bright red cheeks told him otherwise.

“Come, let’s go fetch Frerin and go home before he turns the whole market upside down” Thorin said with a tender smile and deliberately brushed his hand against Dwalin, this time neither pulling away. It was as close as they could get to holding hands in a public place and Thorin soon pulled back and walked off to find his brother, Dwalin following him with a goofy smile on his face.


End file.
